Pakistan Christians, Muslims united against violence

Gojra, NU Online
The Christian and Muslim residents of Gojra town are determined not to allow the recent killing of seven Christians by an angry mob over alleged desecration of Quran to spoil decades of peaceful coexistence.

"It was not an act by local people. It was done by miscreants who came from outside," Manzoor Masih, one of the victims of the recent violence, told IslamOnline on Monday, August 4.<>

An angry mob attacked Christians in the heart of Gojra, some 55 kilometers from the textile city of Faisalabad, over a reported desecration of the Muslim holy book.

Seven Christians were burnt alive and dozens of houses were set ablaze, sparking countrywide protest by Christians and human rights organizations.

The controversy began on July 23 when at a wedding ceremony of a local Christian at a nearby village a newspaper with Quran verses was used by some guests to remove trash from the floor.

Some of the Muslim guests pointed out the issue, which turned into a verbal wrangling before the elders managed to control the situation.

Christian and Muslim elders met on July 26 where the issue was resolved, and the two young Christians who allegedly used the newspaper and spoke derogatory language against Islam were handed over to the police for investigation.

The police later released the suspects, sparking demonstrations.

But the situation took an ugly turn when some armed men from a Christian area opened fire in the air at a time when a Muslim protest rally was passing through by.

The protestors pelted the houses of Christians with stones and all of a sudden some masked armed men appeared and started setting the houses and vehicles on fire.

"Actually, the aerial firing from the Christian colony and the stone pelting further deteriorated the situation," Hafeez Butt, a local resident, told IOL.

"Elders from both sides were trying to control the situation, when these miscreants appeared and everything went out of control."

Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the area and ordered charges and demands that culprits be brought to justice.

Punjab Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that all burnt houses will be rebuilt by the provincial government and people would get cash compensations.

Helpful Muslims

Masih, the Christian victims, asserts that their Muslim neighbors were very helpful. "We had never seen those people who were setting our houses and vehicles on fire," he recalled.

"Our Muslim neighbors tried to stop them from doing that, but they were fully armed and did not listen to them," he added.

"In fact, a few Muslim (neighbors) were also injured by them."

Masih, a plumber by profession, said Muslims provided the victims, whose houses were brunt, with food for next two days.

"I and other neighbors tried our best to stop the miscreants but they were armed, and certainly from outside," recalled Butt, the local Muslim resident.

"I pushed one of the miscreants and asked him not to burn the vehicles, but he hit me with the butt (of his gun), and moved ahead."

Butt says the situation has returned to normalcy thanks to the wise and tolerant behavior of both sides.

"Both sides have understood that someone else is trying to drag them into confrontation. We have to live here together and we cannot afford such kind of incidents."

Christians are the largest religious minority in Muslim Pakistan, making up 3 percent of the total 170 million people.

A majority of Christians resides in Punjab, the country’s most populous and richest province.

Mostly, they are involved din sanitary work, health, and education sectors.

Condemned

Religious scholars and leaders dismissed what happened as a calculated effort to tarnish the image of Pakistan and Islam and to destroy Muslim-Christian harmony.

"Muslims and Christians have been living together in Pakistan in peace for many decades," said Liaquat Baloch, the secretary general of Jammat—e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamic party.

"This incident is a calculated bid to sow seeds of hatred between Muslims and Christians in Pakistan," he insisted.

"Islam calls for peace and harmony with followers of other religions, and so did Prophet Issa (Jesus). No one can defend this kind of inhuman acts."

Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, echoes the same message.

"We have looked into the issue with the help of local Ulema which revealed that some disgruntled elements came from a nearby district to destroy the peace and harmony between Muslims and Christians who have been living together here for centuries," he told IOL.

Mr Bhatti, who reached at the scene soon after the incident, insists no desecration of Quran ever happened.

"We can never even imagine to desecrate Holy Quran. It was just used as an excuse to destroy peace," he said.

"It was a misunderstanding, which had been resolved, but the local administration, especially police, has played a deplorable role by giving full impunity to the miscreants."

Hafiz Ibtisam Illahi Zaheer, a renowned religious scholar, demanded a firm action against those government officials who have failed to protect the Christians.

"This is not a Muslim-Christian confrontation. Rather, it was an act of miscreants," he told IOL.

"The Islamic state is responsible to protect the life and property of minorities. I would say that not only the government, but Muslim citizens are also responsible for that." (dar)